Everyone Loves Butters, Part Two - Stan Marsh
by DarkGardenia
Summary: Stan isn't coping very well with the distance growing between him and his Super Best Friend, especially once he realises his feelings go a bit beyond friendship. Luckily Butters is there to help soothe his broken heart. Stutters, Kyman, Buttman/Cartters, polyship.


Ever since he was a child, Stan Marsh had never coped very well with large-scale change. He had learned to deal with the smaller, inevitable changes that came with growing up, but every now and then something would happen and he could feel the dark claws of anxiety latching on, clawing up his throat trying to escape. He kept a good handle on his mental illness, for the most part, and he was lucky to be surrounded by generally caring and supportive people. They may make mistakes, especially his friends in the early days when they were too young to understand properly, but he knew that they would always be there for him in the end.

So what was he supposed to do when the reason he felt those dark tendrils writhing in his gut was the fear that he was losing the person he was closest to? He and Kyle had come as a pair for as long as he could remember, but it seemed like the older they got the further apart they drifted. He would admit that he was somewhat to blame for the ever-widening chasm between them. In his early teens he'd broken up with Wendy for good and thrown himself into the high school dating scene a bit too enthusiastically, subsequently pushing Kyle away. The separation had, however, made him realise just how much he cared about his super best friend; Too little, too late. By the time he came to terms with his feelings it felt like Kyle was out of reach, and he didn't know how to bridge the gap.

Then came the day that Eric Cartman, of all people, approached Kyle, while Stan was standing right there watching, and asked him out. To say people were shocked would've been an understatement. Eric and Kyle's history aside, as far as anyone knew Eric was in a loving relationship with Butters Stotch. In fact, people were enraged that it seemed Eric was ditching the lovable little blonde to pursue his long time rival, even more so when it appeared he hadn't even officially broken things off with Butters before approaching Kyle. The rage turned to confusion when Eric started openly dating Kyle, while simultaneously continuing his relationship with Butters. Word soon spread around the school that the three were in a polyamorous relationship, and the initial reactions were not kind. No one dared speak against Eric, who was still well known for being unhinged when it came to revenge, but they didn't spare either of his boyfriends. Butters found himself pitied by the majority of the school's population, people looking on with knowing, sympathetic stares whenever he and Eric were seen together. The gossip about Kyle was particularly harsh, with the general consensus being that he was a home wrecking slut who had pursued Eric even knowing he was already taken. Without actually knowing anything about the intricacies of the relationship between the three, people decided that Butters had been forced into sharing his beloved Eric with the evil Kyle, or face losing him forever. This assessment was far from the truth, as it had been Butters who encouraged the relationship between Eric and Kyle in the first place, and he was one of their biggest supporters.

Stan found himself wanting to defend Kyle from the vicious rumors, but he was so thoroughly confused himself that he didn't know where to begin. He tried talking to Wendy about it, and she was able to explain polyamory to him, but he kept his feelings for Kyle a closely guarded secret and so his confusion persisted.

In his efforts to avoid both Kyle and Eric, he found himself spending more time around Butters and Kenny. The two blondes had been close friends for a really long time, ever since they went to Hawaii together as children. So when Eric was spending time with Kyle, Butters would take the opportunity to catch up with his oldest friend. With his own super best friend unavailable, Stan was left with few alternatives, and actually found that he really enjoyed their company. Butters quickly became a brilliant light in Stan's life, illuminating the darkness he'd found himself wallowing in.

It was sort of strange, he'd known Butters pretty much his whole life, but it was like he'd never really looked at him before. Whenever they'd hung out as kids it had always been as part of a group, either playing superheroes and villains, fantasy roleplaying games, or just goofing around with the gang. Butters had been that naive, slightly goobery kid who followed them around and they all tolerated him because it was easier than telling him to go away. Looking at him now though, Stan was left wondering if he'd always been this beautiful, this kind-hearted, and so unbelievably pure. How had he missed it, all this time?

Unbeknownst to Stan, Kenny could see what was happening and started making excuses to avoid hanging out with the other two, encouraging them to spend time alone together. Slowly but surely Butters was easing the pain deep within Stan's heart, and replacing it with the soft growth of new love. It didn't happen with a bang or any sort of dramatic flair; One day they simply looked at each other and realised they were in love.

They had been messing around at Stan's house after school one day, on one of the rare occasions that Kenny actually joined them. What started out as video games soon turned into a bit of friendly wrestling between friends. Somehow Butters had ended up on top of Stan, hands on his shoulders holding him down, both of them breathing heavily. They lay there, frozen, for what seemed like hours, until Stan licked his dry lips and shifted slight, breaking the spell.

"Oh gosh Stan, I'm sorry!" Butters gasped, moving to get off his friend.

But Stan let out a choked whine and grabbed the smaller boy's hips, pulling him back down against him hard. Butters stared at him, eyes wide and mouth open, unsure of what was happening. Then, hesitantly, he moved forward and shyly kissed his friend before pulling back, a silent question in his eyes.

"Butters…" Stan whispered, leaning up, chasing another kiss.

Like a switch flipped, they gave in to their emotions, lips joining passionately as their bodies moved together. It was messy, it was sloppy, but they didn't care because this was what they'd been yearning for.

Kenny coughed, "You guys, uh, know I'm still here right? Nope, okay well I'll just see myself out then… Have fun, be safe, make good choices!"


End file.
